Good Game is a weekly column about the latest news in video games and casual gaming.

New Releases

Halo: Reach (Xbox)
— The much-anticipated FPS racked up a whopping $210 million in sales on its first day. I’m not a big Halo fan myself, but the game has received almost universal praise from reviewers and gamers — including my 15-year-old niece, who stood in line for three hours at a local Gamestop with hundreds of other people to purchase the game at midnight on its release date. (She was one of the few girls in line, and the only one smart enough to have pizza delivered.)

If you’re a Halo fan, check out this video debunking the top myths about the game.

Blade Kitten (XBLA/PSN/PC) —
I’m not usually a fan of platform arcade games, or animated games, but this new arcade game about bounty hunter Kit Ballard, her alien sidekick Skiffy, and her sword, the Darque Blade, is a lot of fun.

The graphics are great, the voice acting is strong, the gameplay flows smoothly. And Blade Kitten‘s tagline? “Her tale is one of liberation. Her tail is pink.” ‘Nuff said.

The Legends of the Guardian: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (Xbox/PS3/Wii/DS) — Flying around as an owl dropping firebombs on targets is fun, but not worth $50 when that’s pretty much all you do. Playing the free demo gives you the same experience at no cost.

Pocket Frogs(iPod/iPad) — This free app became an instant hit when it debuted last week, with over 500,000 downloads in the first five days. The game involves taming, breeding, buying, and selling frogs; monitoring their growth and happiness; and gifting them to other players. With more than 10,000 frogs, there’s enough to keep you occupied for days.

I downloaded the game to see what all the fuss was about, and quickly got sucked in &#8212 until my frogs divided into tribes, started competing for resources, and began voting each other off the lily pad. Too much drama!

The company behind the game makes money by up-selling you potions and stamps that speed up the game, but you can easily play without these. And at a price of zero, what have you go to lose? (Besides dozens of hours, that is.)